Coventry City and Hull City touted as landing spots for Rotherham United star
Rotherham’s seemingly inevitable relegation would open the door for this player to leave the club
Viktor Johansson, Rotherham United’s goalkeeper, might leave in the summer due to a release clause if the team is relegated.
Johansson has been a standout player but needs improvement, especially in his footwork, to potentially play in the Premier League.
FLW fan pundit thinks Johansson will stay in the Championship, possibly with top-eight clubs like Hull City or Coventry City.
This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
There’s a good chance that Rotherham United’s number one goalkeeper, and captain, Viktor Johansson, could leave in the summer, as clubs in the Premier League, and abroad circle.
The Swedish number one has been the Millers’ standout player for the past two seasons. His heroics between the sticks almost certainly won’t be enough to keep them up this season, like he did in the season prior, but he has also earned legendary status at the club.
In January 2023, the keeper signed a new deal with the club that would extend his stay until the summer of 2025. As part of that deal, a seven-figure release clause was put into the contract that would become active if Rotherham were to be relegated, according to the Rotherham Advertiser. Given that Leam Richardson’s side are 19 points from safety, with eight games to go, and could be mathematically relegated at the end of the Easter weekend, the chances of this clause becoming active is high.
The Advertiser added that had the club sold the 25-year-old in January, as they had the chance to, with Sheffield United being interested in Johansson during the winter window, then they would have made more money than the release figure that is in his contract. They also believe that there will be interest from elsewhere in Europe for Johansson’s services.
Either way, it will be sad for fans when he seemingly inevitably leaves the New York Stadium for the final time. On the topic of his departure, Football League World’s Rotherham fan pundit, Tom Eyre, has given his view on where he thinks the Swede will end up next season.
Potential 2024/25 destinations for Rotherham’s Viktor Johansson
Eyre believes that his club’s captain will leave Rotherham before the start of next season, and he thinks the 25-year-old will stay in the Championship. “I see his seven-figure release clause being activated this summer,” said FLW’s Rotherham fan pundit.
“I could see Johansson heading to Hull City or Coventry City; a top eight Championship side. I don’t think that he is ready for Premier League football yet. I think his footwork and general footballing ability does need to be improved. But, as a shot-stopper, he is fantastic.
“He is one of the best in the league at shot-stopping. But his footwork does need to be improved, so a top eight side, like Coventry, like Hull, is where I see him ending up.”
Viktor Johansson has the ability to play in the Premier League
It is easy to look at his stats this season, and say ‘Well, it’s easy to stay concentrated and make all these saves when you are facing so many shots.’ There’s certainly a case for this, and he definitely has had the most shots to try and save – the 25-year-old has made 4 saves per game this season, as per Sofascore which is 0.5 more than any other his other counterparts.
There’s the technical improvements that would need to be made too – he has the second-lowest pass completion percentage in the second tier (46%), and the fourth-fewest accurate passes per game (16.9), as per Sofascore. But that is a by-product of the team that he has been playing in.
Although we are in an era where all the top shot-stoppers are also expected to be as confident on the ball as many of their teammates, not every Premier League keeper has that. Nick Pope never looks comfortable on the ball, and there are also the likes of Sam Johnstone, who aren’t too technically proficient with their feet but still make it into national team squads.
Even with his current skill set, Johansson could be at the level to play in the top flight. The improvements on the ball would have to come if he wanted to take that leap up to being one of the world’s best.
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